|  "***1/2.
Marvelous... Highly recommended."
Read full review from Video
Librarian
"A tragicomic portrait of an un-landed
gentry in search of a mythical America that is fast giving way
to the concrete realities of mass-market placelessness." Read
full review from Metropolis
"It's a hoot!" RV Lifestyle
"Curiously wonderful and funny." Missoulian
"Facsinating, hilarious and surprisingly insightful." read full review from Cascadia Weekly
“Alternately humorous and serious, interviews are interspersed
with clips of historical travelers, including Lewis and Clark,
who traveled through the area. Conversational topics range from
the decline of small town centers, the joys of traveling, and
the camaraderie of boon dockers. A delightful film, full of interesting
people.” Escapees
"It is a given that in Hawes-Davis films that his subject
will be treated with fairness and some hilarity - it is compassion
that allows his camera to lay bare its subject. Quick judgments
are withheld, and the smooth, anti-art road of indictment and
malice is avoided. This can be said even though the film delves
brazenly into the negative implications of this radically consumptive
road culture and its banal superstore fixation. This film is about
a culture that views the world as entertainment, and the fantastic
level of abstraction that such a view requires." Read
full review from the Mountain Gazette
"This is Nowhere well represents the commitment of Hawes-Davis and Carr to let the subject speak for itself. It's a twist for the genre in which their films are commonly categorized." read full story from Bear Deluxe Magazine
"A film of words and images set to an edgy soundtrack. What
begins as a celebration of personal freedom turns into a discussion
of political ideals, the social effects of big business, and a
desire to escape from both" read
full review from www.hometheatersound.com
"While the topic of the documentary is the phenomena of Wal-Mart
camping, we are gently exposed to other social concerns worthy
of reflection; consumerism, cultural differences, freedom, civic
pride, and the price of oil and the affects it has on our way
of life. Our Wal-Mart guests are not shy about sharing their thoughts,
beliefs and dreams. While they are treated with fairness and honesty,
the filmmakers are also not reticent in underscoring the many
ironies proposed by the interviewees. The soundtrack is also used
with great effect to stress these ironies. This is Nowhere
is enriched by the inclusion of the unique stylings (and often
commentary-ridden lyrics) of Ned Mudd." Read
full review from Michael's Movie Mahem
"Hawes-Davis presents an ironic and strangely dissonant interpretation
of American culture in the documentary film, This is Nowhere,
an expose of RV travelers who circumnavigate the country 'camping'
in Wal-Mart parking lots. Through ingenious editing, the viewer
is taken on a journey of cultural contradictions, driven by the
balderdash of Wal-Mart campers who speak their minds on a panoply
of issues: mobility, freedom, nature, resources, consumption,
government, social class, community, globalization and homogenization,
suburban sprawl, urban poverty and blight. The result is a theater
of the absurd acted out in surreal Wal-Mart-scapes and highway
strip developments, vehicles and people jiggling in fast motion
staccato, going nowhere. The film encourages us to pause and reflect
on paradoxes that underscore American culture.” Read full article by Kevin E.
McHugh in The Journal of Cultural Geography
"The film allows the RV-ers...to speak for themselves, and the
result is...sometimes hilarious, sometimes disturbing commentary
about contemporary American values."
Read full review from
Mother Jones
"Doug Hawes-Davis...paints a playful but also rather disturbing picture of this societal trend." Read full review from Missoula Independent
"Visionary.... fascinating, humane, terrifying, futuristic
and very, very, very wry, you'll never go supermarket in quite
the same way again." Read
full review from kinoKulture
"Two documentaries that will be screened at the 2002 Temecula
Valley International Film & Music Festival offer living proof
that real life is more bizarre than any fiction. Doug Hawes-Davis
went looking for America and Ilan Saragosti went looking for a
mirror. Both ended up in the theater of the absurd. Each came
away with a fascinating story." Read
full review from Preview Magazine
"Documentary filmmakers Doug Hawes-Davis and John Lilburn
delve into the world of the American camper, RV and motor home
lifestyle in which transient travelers live in luxury on wheel
and camp at Wal-Mart." Idaho Statesman
"A cinematic curiosity not unlike the films of Jeff Krulik
or Errol Morris. Hawes-Davis' ironic ode to the new America is
a sad tale of folks who want the homogeneity and convenience that
Wal-Mart emblematizes while still maintaining the illusion of
freedom and an attunement with nature." Terminal City
Weekly
"Ever wonder who's driving those RVs around the country? Well This is Nowhere provides the definitive answer, while also
explaining why they all seem to love Wal-Mart so much." Read
full review from filmcritic.com
"A quirky film that provides a view into a small segment of society
that makes the RV their primary residence. There are roughly 3
million people who have chosen this as their lifestyle that the
census used to refer to as the 'affluent homeless.' I was drawn
to their unique way of life and the sense of contentment many
of the couples exuded from the freedom of mobility." Read
full review from The Californian
"The importance of This is Nowhere lies in its grave outlook
on where our consumer culture is heading is we don't become aware
of our tendency to push ever outward and require more sprawl and
more convenience." Read
full review from the Birmingham Weekly
"In an age of market globalization and shifting individual identities,
it's important that we look around us at the focal points of people's
habits and passions. This is Nowhere does just that with
a curious segment of U.S. society--well-off retirees who tour
the country in RVs and camp out in Wal-Mart parking lots. With
this focus, the people at High Plains Films are able to probe
issues of urban sprawl, marketization, and cultural homogenization.
At the same time, the film reveals several contradictions experienced
by this group of people (and many of us): for example, expressing
our freedom yet choosing sameness, simplifying life but trying
to 'have it all,' valuing community yet spending time in ways
that make community increasingly out of reach, and 'rediscovering'
nature from the perspective of pavement." George Cheney, Director
of Graduate Studies, Dept of Communication, University of Montana
"Doug Hawes-Davis and John Lilburn serve a new reading of
the American dream. And thanks to the unobtrusive style of the
filmmaking, the viewer is allowed to contemplate a handful of
factors concerning retirement, the economy, gluttony, and the
inability of some people to stay planted." Read
full review from www.flickhead.com
"Sort of a cross between Lost in America and Mall Rats, with a
little Roger & Me thrown in for good measure, This is Nowhere profiles a handful of travelers, mostly seniors, who have found
community, wide-open space and extremely convenient shopping -
all in one place." Read full
review from Enough!
"A collection of interviews and artful camera work that examines
the lives and lifestyles of people who live in RVs parked on Wal-Mart
parking lots. The travellers claim that they are living life,
seeing America and experiencing freedom. What we see looks a lot
like...a parking lot." Chicago Anarchist Film Festival
"Director Doug Hawes-Davis turns a sharp eye on one of the more bizarre aspects of American culture through his interviewees who are camped out on the cement in the Wal-Mart in Missoula, Montana." Read full review from Phoenix Cinema
"Hawes-Davis recently finished his 3rd feature-length documentary, This is Nowhere, a four-year project that takes the viewer
on an utterly fascinating journey to examine the motivations and
philosophies of RV travelers." Read
full review from BOISEweekly
"It seems as if there is no end to subcultures that exist
in the United States. Sometimes, I am flabbergasted by the nature
of some of these groups, and This Is Nowhere presents yet
another bizarre subculture that left me with my jaw hanging."
Read full review from
Grand Rapids Press
"Witty, profound and inventive, this is documentary filmmaking
at its best."
Read full review from Missoula
Independent
"Covering the ghastly spectacle of contemporary US life is a nasty
job, but somebody's got to do it, and High Plains Films has done
it very well." James Howard Kunstler, Author, The Geography
of Nowhere
"Powerful. The film paints a disturbing, almost tragic, portrait
of people looking for something different, yet wanting everything
to be the same. And while it's easy to laugh at the inconsistencies
and near hypocrisy found in the lifestyle choices of people introduced
in this documentary, it's unfortunately just as easy to identify
with their motivations. Thus it's upsettingly obvious that their
lives, and the entire film, provide a metaphor that can be extended
to American culture and American aspirations at large." Read
full review from www.greenworks.tv
"America is homogenized and the regional differences are gone.
Why should a traveler have to endure any hardship? Meet the new
breed of traveler who wishes to "camp" in absolute comfort, without
the messy dirt, fire, outhouses, trees or animals." SF Indiefest
"What we found so compelling is that Wal-Marts are becoming important
and valuable travel destinations, just as National Parks, museums
and historic sites are important travel destinations. It's clear
the phenomenon is a reflection of ongoing changes in American
culture." Read full review
from The Local Planet
"Excellent...an interesting, funny, endearing, sometimes sorrowful
look at the people who call themselves 'Wally Worlders.'" Montana
Kaiman
"High Plains Films, a Missoula-based non-profit production house,
debuts its third feature documentary tonight at the New Crystal
Theater."
Listen to full interview
from Montana Public Radio
"Filmmaker Doug Hawes-Davis and co-director John Lilburn set out
to document this emerging social phenomenon with the idea that
this story was bigger than a few wayward tourists with curious
tastes in camping spots."
Read full review from
rvbookstore.com
"The film does well to let these road warriors speak for
themselves.... and this film catches up with a dozen or so of
them, as their travels take them through Missoula, Montana, a
very nice town with a Wal-Mart that looks just like hundreds of
others."
Read full review from
Digitally Obsessed!
"Each year, all across America, tens of thousands of travelers
and retirees steer their massive campers and RVs into Wal-Mart
parking lots to 'camp.' They sit in front of their RVs on folding
chairs, confabulate with their temporary neighbors, and buy anything
they might need inside the adjacent Wal-Mart, which is why the
giant retailer allows them to stay. After a night or two, each
traveler starts their engine and moves on, towards a new town
and a different, yet same, Wal-Mart parking lot. Montana documentary
filmmaker Doug Hawes-Davis wryly captures the attitudes and opinions
of this aimless subculture as they discuss politics, nature, civic
values and each other. On another level, This is Nowhere is about
the increasingly homogeneous geographic and intellectual landscape.
As one traveler put it, 'It's hard to remember where you've been.'"
Central Standard Film Festival
"Ironic and witty." Curve
"Documentary filmmaker Doug Hawes-Davis goes to Wal-Mart
to ask questions about American culture in his latest film This
is Nowhere, which screens this month at the Brattleboro Environmental
Film Festival." Read full article from NewEnglandFilm.com
"This is Nowhere, showing Wednesday at The Met Theater,
investigates the symbiotic relationship between Wal-Mart and a
segment of RV travelers. But, it does more. It also tackles bigger
issues of urban sprawl, consumerism and the homogeneity of American
culture." Spokesman-Review
"A rather disturbing picture." read
full review from RV Business
"Humorous and smart, the film raises provocative questions
about community values, liberty, consumerism, and the American
dream." Read
full review from Natural Home & Garden
"Ever since the days of the pioneers, Americans have
been great travelers. Yet, as This is Nowhere eloquently
illustrates, America has changed quite a bit since Lewis and Clark
embarked on their legendary expedition. These days, instead of
blazing trails through the wild frontier, contemporary sojourners
are now content to gravitate toward the security, comfort and
monotony of America’s newest epicenter: Wal-Mart parking
lots." Timothy McGettigan, Ph.D., Department of Sociology,
Colorado State University-Pueblo
"With gentle humor and a keen eye for detail, Hawes-Davis offers a telling commentary on the American relationship with nature and the open road." All Movie Guide
Related Articles
"Doug Hawes-Davis, part of a Montana filmmaking
duo that documented the Wal-Mart phenomenon in an upcoming film
called This is Nowhere, estimates tens of thousands of Rvers use
the parking lots each year. He suggests they represent a new American
community, one attuned to the predictability and homogeneity that
the more than 2,500 Wal-Marts nationwide provide." Read full article from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"Filmmaker Doug Hawes-Davis' documentary This is Nowhere (87 minutes, 2002) chronicles the hopes and dreams of these weird
wanderers who profess to want to see nature, meet new people and
learn about history but who wouldn't dream of spending the night
anywhere but Wal-Mart." Read full article from Greater Willmington Business
"This is Nowhere, a documentary released this year
by Montana-based High Plains Films, looks at the estimated tens
of thousands of RV enthusiasts who make Wal-Mart stores their
travel destination each year." Read full article from The Chronicle-Journal
"Indy Film Documents 'Camping' at Wal-Mart" Read
full article from RV West Journal
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